Maria Adams
Recent reports about government agencies and courts in California and Maryland attacking parental rights are shocking. The CA attorney general sued a local school board for policies supporting parental rights, and an MD district court ruled that parents cannot opt out of public school curricula, such as LGBTQ or SEL, that conflict with their religious beliefs.
In North Carolina, the importance of parental rights was underscored when 65 Democrat legislators voted against SB49, the Parents’ Bill of Rights. Despite this, the bill was successfully passed by a veto override, thanks to NC’s Republican supermajority in both the House and the Senate. This victory for parental rights in education is a testament to the crucial role parents play in their children’s education.
Subsequently, school districts across NC passed policies to align with the new statute. At the September 2023 Board meeting, Guilford County Schools (“GCS”) put the following policies out for public comment:
1310/4002 Parental Involvement and Empowerment
1311/4003 Parental Notification-Withholding Consent
3540 Comprehensive Health Education Program
GCS received 34 comments, probably more than any combined policies for the calendar year. Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), the majority of comments were not in support of the Parent’s Bill of Rights (“PBR”). As you can imagine, many of the comments opposing PBR were from LGBTQ+ activists who found the requirement of reporting student name and pronoun changes to parents would “endanger some students.” Why are “pronouns” even a thing, and why are made-up pronouns like ze/zir and xi/xim fostered in public education? Shouldn’t the target be on a curriculum that teaches proper English and grammar? Guilford County Schools is experiencing record-low reading and math scores. Instead of pushing radical political and social ideologies, GCS needs to stay hyper-focus on fundamental skills.
Research consistently shows that when parents are actively involved in their children’s education, students are more likely to succeed. The Parent’s Bill of Rights ensures parents have access to their child(ren)’s curriculum and strengthens laws such as FERPA and PPRA that protect students’ privacy. The bill also mandates the development of a parent’s guide to student achievement, which will empower parents to understand their child’s educational progress and how they can contribute to their success in school.
The Parent’s Bill of Rights codifies parents’ fundamental rights to direct their children’s upbringing, education, medical needs, morals, and religious training. It’s a common-sense bill that ensures parents, not the government, raise their children.
Parental rights are fundamental and should never be infringed.
Maria Adams is the principal designer of a successful Interior Design firm. She frequently volunteers for organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Pregnancy Network, and the Guilford County Republican Party. Maria leads Moms for Liberty Guilford as the Chapter Chair.
Maria and her husband, along with their two children and three Brittany Spaniels, reside in Summerfield.